Tag Archives: Raul Grijalva

Watchdog Finds Trump Border Wall Harmed Environment, Indigenous Sites, and Wildlife

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“This racist political stunt has been an ineffective waste of billions of American taxpayers’ dollars—and now we know it has caused immeasurable, irreparable harm,” said Congressman Raúl Grijalva.

By Jessica Corbett Published 9-7-2023 by Common Dreams

Donald Trump stands before a section of border fencing. Photo: rump White House Archived/flickr/CC

A U.S. government watchdog agency on Thursday released a report exposing how former President Donald Trump’s wall construction along the nation’s border with Mexico negatively affected cultural and natural resources, as critics have long argued.

“The Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and the Department of Defense (DOD) installed about 458 miles of border barrier panels across the southwest border from January 2017 through January 2021,” according to the Government Accountability Office (GAO) report. “Most (81%) of the miles of panels replaced existing barriers.”

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Lawmakers Urge Biden to Block Massive Petrochemical Complex in Cancer Alley

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“This disastrous project is an affront to environmental justice and contrary to your goals to reduce pollution in frontline communities.”

By Jessica Corbett, staff writer for Common Dreams. Published 3-18-2021

Environmental justice campaigners across the country have spoken out against the proposed Formosa Plastics Complex in Louisiana. (Photo: Louisiana Bucket Brigade/Twitter)

A pair of lawmakers known for fighting for environmental justice in Congress sent a letter to the White House on Wednesday urging President Joe Biden to deliver on his campaign promises to curb pollution in frontline communities by permanently blocking a large petrochemical complex in an area of Louisiana called “Cancer Alley.”

Residents of St. James Parish, Louisiana and environmental justice advocates nationwide have come out against the Taiwan-based Formosa Plastics Group’s plans for a $9.4 billion complex that would release cancer-causing chemicals and, according to one watchdog’s estimate, produce 13.6 million tons of planet-heating emissions per year. Continue reading →

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‘Glimmer of Hope’ for Yemen as Khanna Invokes War Powers Act to End US Support for Saudi-Led Slaughter of Civilians

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“This resolution should be a no-brainer for Congress. What more do they need to finally end this tragedy?”

By Jessica Corbett, staff writer for Common Dreams. Published 9-26-2018

These are the children the Trump adminstration claims to have helped. Humanitarian aid is still denied by US policy. Photo: Haidai Sumeri/Twitter

Amid reports that civilian deaths have “surged dramatically” in Yemen since June, when the Saudi-led coalition launched an offensive to take control of the port city Hodeidah, Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) on Wednesday officially introduced a highly anticipated resolution invoking the War Powers Act of 1973, in hopes of ending American support for the coalition’s attacks and the resulting humanitarian crisis.


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‘Missing-Persons Crisis’: US Border Patrol Reportedly Uses Desert as Killing Tool

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New report finds agents chase border crossers into Southwest desert, where they often become lost, are left to die, or disappear altogether

By Nadia Prupis, staff writer for Common Dreams. Published 12-7-2016

In 1994, Border Patrol adopted a strategy known as Prevention Through Deterrence, which sought to control the region by increasing the risk of coming into the country without documents. (Photo: Texas Military Department/flickr/cc)

In 1994, Border Patrol adopted a strategy known as Prevention Through Deterrence, which sought to control the region by increasing the risk of coming into the country without documents. (Photo: Texas Military Department/flickr/cc)

The U.S. Border Patrol has used the south-western desert to set up the death and disappearances of tens of thousands of undocumented immigrants, according to a new report by the Arizona-based advocacy groups No More Deaths/No Más Muertes and La Coalición de Derechos Humanos.

The report, entitled Disappeared: How U.S. Border-Enforcement Agencies are Fueling a Missing-Persons Crisis, finds that Border Patrol agents routinely chase border crossers into “remote terrain,” causing them to scatter, which often causes them to become lost, leading to death, injury, or disappearance. Continue reading →

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